BOARD of DIRECTORS Nicholas Tomb President Lejla Mavris Vice-President Boatamo Mosupyoe Vice-President Jeff Callahan Treasurer Nathan

Voegeli Secretary Michael Buckley Rita Cameron-Wedding Shane Christensen Cameron Hunter Robin McBride Essra Mostafavi Lou Sobredo IAB Members
Praveen Abhayaratne Sri Lanka Catalina Acevedo Colombia Tatsushi Arai Japan Paul Arthur Ireland Jan Knippers-Black USA Rita Cameron Wedding USA Maria Chan Singapore Reynaldo Escoto Mexico Daniel Garcia Pena Colombia Hamdan Goumaa Sudan Nadia Hashimi Afghanistan Luz Maria Helguero Peru Tetsuya Ishizuka Japan Mitsuru Kurosawa Japan Ebba Lindgren Sweden Bernard Lown USA Jeffrey Mapendere Zimbabwe Mavis Matenge Botswana William Monning USA Boatamo Mosupyoe South Africa Mohamed Mouknass Mauritania Jeannette Ndhlovu South Africa Jacob Oulanyah Uganda Surinder Rana India Joanna Rojas Franco Colombia Arjan Shahani-Moreno Mexico Hillel Schenker Israel Kees Steenken Canada Madoua Teko-Folly Togo Isatou Touray The Gambia Dinesh Tripathi Nepal Ramiz Younis Palestine

September 6, 2013 Honorable Members United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Re. Crisis in Syria Dear Representatives: Global Majority calls upon all stakeholders impacted by the current crisis in Syria to commit to immediate and unconditional negotiations to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The world cannot stand by while so many innocent civilians on all sides of the conflict are dying. Action to stop further bloodshed and suffering, cease acts of violence against civilians and protect them from hostilities is needed. We believe that there is no military option that will lead to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The only sustainable solution will be a political solution. Therefore, we support President Obamas decision to seek approval from the US Congress and we call upon members of the US Congress to vote against the use of military force in Syria. While the use of chemical weapons against unarmed civilians is deplorable, the primary goal of the US and the international community must be to find a long-term, sustainable settlement to the conflictnot serve as the global policeman. If the US were to attack Syria, the action would be condemned as illegal and illegitimate, and would likely cause the Assad regime and its allies to resist efforts to come to the negotiating table, while stoking resentment against the US and its allies in Syria and across the region. As US Representative Sam Farr (D, CA) recently stated if we have learned nothing from these last two conflicts it is that war does not always yield the results we desire. We concur with this statement, and believe that a unilateral attack against Syria at this point in time threatens the security and stability of the entire region. The only sustainable solution to the crisis will come from the negotiating tablenot the battlefield. Rather than authorizing the use of military force, we call upon members of the US Congress, as well as global governmental and non-governmental leaders, to support an immediate cease-fire and an immediate commencement of

411 Pacific Street, Suite 318 Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 372-5518 info@globalmajority.org www.globalmajority.org

BOARD of DIRECTORS Nicholas Tomb President Lejla Mavris Vice-President Boatamo Mosupyoe Vice-President Jeff Callahan Treasurer Nathan Voegeli Secretary Michael Buckley Rita Cameron-Wedding Shane Christensen Cameron Hunter Robin McBride Essra Mostafavi Lou Sobredo IAB Members
Praveen Abhayaratne Sri Lanka Catalina Acevedo Colombia Tatsushi Arai Japan Paul Arthur Ireland Jan Knippers-Black USA Rita Cameron Wedding USA Maria Chan Singapore Reynaldo Escoto Mexico Daniel Garcia Pena Colombia Hamdan Goumaa Sudan Nadia Hashimi Afghanistan Luz Maria Helguero Peru Tetsuya Ishizuka Japan Mitsuru Kurosawa Japan Ebba Lindgren Sweden Bernard Lown USA Jeffrey Mapendere Zimbabwe Mavis Matenge Botswana William Monning USA Boatamo Mosupyoe South Africa Mohamed Mouknass Mauritania Jeannette Ndhlovu South Africa Jacob Oulanyah Uganda Surinder Rana India Joanna Rojas Franco Colombia Arjan Shahani-Moreno Mexico Hillel Schenker Israel Kees Steenken Canada Madoua Teko-Folly Togo Isatou Touray The Gambia Dinesh Tripathi Nepal Ramiz Younis Palestine

negotiations convened by the United Nations and/or Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint United Nations/Arab League envoy, and to the rapid convening of a Geneva II conference in which a negotiated settlement can be explored and ultimately reached. The use of chemical weapons against either combatants or civilians is something that the international community vowed after World War One to totally ban. Therefore, in addition to a peaceful and stable resolution of the conflict in Syria, we also call for progress towards a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East." Further, war crimes, crimes against humanity and grave human rights violations cannot be allowed to go unpunished. The United Nations and international community should refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court so that those implicated in serious violations of international law can be prosecuted. We call upon all parties to respect their obligations under international law and urgently permit relevant agencies access to all areas in Syria to provide humanitarian assistance to all conflict-affected people. Sincerely, Members of Global Majority

411 Pacific Street, Suite 318 Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 372-5518 info@globalmajority.org www.globalmajority.org